Conservation Law Foundation

The natural spaces of Massachusetts are invaluable to residents. Photo: EcoPhotography This November, Massachusetts voters can increase funding for land and water conservation by passing Question 6, the Nature for All ballot measure. Our rolling hills, sandy coasts, dense forests, and the places that we go for fun, for respite, and for connection, all suffer from chronic underfunding. The Nature for All ballot question would generate up to $100 million per year for land and water protection.

The Merrimack is at the heart of Manchester’s PFAS fight. CLF’s latest victory gives the river another chance at stronger protection against these forever chemicals. Photo: Adilson González Morales. Manchester, like many cities and towns, has a PFAS problem. These toxic “forever chemicals” move through the city’s wastewater system and into the Merrimack River, the air, and the surrounding environment. But that pollution is not inevitable.

The governor's executive order is a step in the right direction, but the best time to protect communities is before the first permit is issued. Photo: Wikimedia Commons September 8, 2026 (Boston, MA) – Governor Maura Healey issued an executive order establishing new safeguards for data center development in Massachusetts. Under the new order, new data centers will need support from their host communities, including a community benefits agreement, before receiving key state permits.

Combined sewer overflows are a major source of pollution in the Charles and Mystic rivers and are becoming more frequent due to intense rainstorms caused by climate change. Photo: Shutterstock September 8, 2026 (Boston, MA) – Clean water advocates gathered on the Charles River Esplanade on Tuesday for a rally demanding sewage-free rivers.

Seabed mining could harvest small metallic nodules on the seafloor. Photo: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration Many people think that the deep sea is a lifeless desert, but modern exploration has shown that there are vast coral gardens, hotspots of life around sea vents, and underwater mountains that are home to bustling ecosystems of unique organisms.

New Bedford residents attended the hearing at the Suffolk County Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, where CLF attorneys argued on their behalf in opposition to a proposed massive trash facility.

East Point, Nahant, Masssachusetts. Photo by Creative Commons September 3, 2026 (Boston, MA) – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has issued a major victory for land conservation, affirming the ability of communities to protect critical open space for people and nature. In Town of Nahant v. Northeastern University, the court upheld the town’s use of its eminent domain authority to protect an area of waterfront land as open space and for public recreation.

Advocates campaigned to protect pollinators in Massachusetts. Photo: EcoPhotography With the federal government slashing good environmental policies right and left, we’re doubling down on defending the environment here at home. This Massachusetts legislative session, our advocates campaigned to protect pollinators, fund projects to protect us from the impacts of climate change, support clean, affordable energy, and more.

Entanglements in fishing gear are a leading cause of death for critically endangered right whales. Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission taken under NOAA research permit 15488 September 2, 2026 (Boston, MA) – The Senate is poised to vote on the so-called “Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026,” a misguided bill that would put off desperately needed regulations to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from deadly fishing gear entanglements until 2035.

A heat pump rate would help bring utility operations into the 21st century. Photo: EcoPhotography September 1, 2026 (Providence, RI) — Rhode Island is encouraging more families to install energy-efficient heat pumps because they can lower energy bills, improve air quality and reduce climate pollution. Yet many households that make the switch aren’t seeing as much savings as they should because the state’s electric rates charge them more than it costs the utility to serve them.